1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to palletizing machines, and more particularly pertains to a case turning assist attachment for a conventional type of palletizing machine known in the industry as the VON GAL PALLETIZER. This type of palletizing machine includes a linear live roller assembly for conveying cases to a pallet loading rake. A double acting air cylinder case turner is conventionally disposed upstream from the palletizing rake for turning cases to a correct transverse orientation prior to reaching the palletizing rake. The present invention is directed to an attachment for improving the efficiency of this type of palletizing machine by speeding up the time it takes for a case of packaged goods to be turned. By speeding up the case turning time, the delay time for the palletizing rake will be decreased, thereby resulting in more cases per minute being raked onto a pallet. This results in higher efficiencies and also provides better case handling capabilities. On the original equipment VON GAL PALLETIZER, the cases are fed onto the machine by use of a metering belt driven conveyor. The cases are then placed on a section of the machine which is driven by live rollers. As the cases proceed down the live rollers, they are counted and when the count reaches a specific number, which is predetermined by whatever layer configuration the manufacturer needs for his materials to be placed upon to the pallet, an air cylinder is activated which extends a piece of flat metal either up between the live rollers, or on some models it may be extended from the side of the live roller section. The bottom left corner of the case then hits this piece of metal and as the rollers are rotated in a forward direction, this forces the case to gradually turn sideways on the live rollers and proceed to the rake. One of the problems with this original equipment is that the live rollers become slippery and the cases are a lot slower in turning to a lateral orientation. This results in the palletizing rake starting to move before the case is in correct position, which results in damaged materials. In order to overcome this problem, the present invention provides an economical attachment including a mechanically operated air solenoid switch and an air cylinder pusher. These components are easily connected to the air supply of the original case turner. Through the present invention, the efficiency of this conventional form of palletizing machine is greatly improved for a nominal investment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of packaging machines are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a device is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,740, which issued to S. Hurd on Apr. 1, 1975. This patent discloses an orienting apparatus for cap-shaped members. An air jet is utilized to orient the members on a conveyor belt. U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,682, which issued to J. Hoagland et al on Mar. 23, 1976, discloses an article transferring machine in which articles are fed at regular intervals into rotating pockets and advance along an arcuate path to a discharge area. U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,099, which issued to W. Sterling on Aug. 16, 1977, discloses an air controlled switch utilized in conjunction with a rotatable sorting table for orienting items and delivering the properly oriented items to a discharge passage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,134, which issued to A. Johnson Jr. et al on Nov. 24, 1981, discloses a mechanism for capturing ejected articles from a carrier and for re-oriented articles along an assembly line. U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,736, which issued to R. Bolt on Dec. 25, 1984, discloses a cigarette packaging machine including an air jet mechanism for laterally ejecting cigarettes from a conveyor.
While the above mentioned devices are directed to various conveying and packaging machines, none of these devices disclose an auxiliary case turning attachment for turning a case to a transverse orientation on a live roller conveyor section of a palletizing machine. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of attachments, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such attachments, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.